Megan La Peyre, PhD
Assistant Unit Leader - Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Research Interests
Megan's research focuses on estuarine ecology. Her lab is engaged in field and laboratory studies examining fish and invertebrate use of natural, restored and created shallow estuarine habitats including the ecology and ecosystem function of oyster reefs.
Teaching Interests
Megan teaches classes related to restoration of estuarine coastal systems, and natural resources policy.
Professional Experience
Assistant Unit Leader, Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2000-
Education and Certifications
Ph D Louisiana State University 2000
MS College of William and Mary 1995
BA Duke University 1992
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 87
The Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment: Mangrove, Tidal Emergent Marsh, Barrier Islands, and Oyster Reef
Climate, sea level rise, and urbanization are undergoing unprecedented levels of combined change and are expected to have large effects on natural resources—particularly along the Gulf of Mexico coastline (Gulf Coast). Management decisions to address these effects (i.e., adaptation) require an understanding of the relative vulnerability of various resources to these stressors. To meet this need, t
Authors
Amanda Watson, Joshua S. Reece, Blair Tirpak, Cynthia Kallio Edwards, Laura Geselbracht, Mark Woodrey, Megan K. LaPeyre, P. Soupy Dalyander
Population ecology of the gulf ribbed mussel across a salinity gradient: recruitment, growth and density
Benthic intertidal bivalves play an essential role in estuarine ecosystems by contributing to habitat provision, water filtration, and promoting productivity. As such, changes that impact population distributions and persistence of local bivalve populations may have large ecosystem level consequences. Recruitment, growth, mortality, population size structure and density of the gulf coast ribbed mu
Authors
Aaron Honig, John Supan, Megan K. LaPeyre
Oyster reef restoration in the northern Gulf of Mexico: extent, methods and outcomes
Shellfish reef restoration to support ecological services has become more common in recent decades, driven by increasing awareness of the functional decline of shellfish systems. Maximizing restoration benefits and increasing efficiency of shellfish restoration activities would greatly benefit from understanding and measurement of system responses to management activities. This project (1) compile
Authors
Megan K. LaPeyre, Jessica N. Furlong, Laura A. Brown, Bryan P. Piazza, Ken Brown
Temporal variation in development of ecosystem services from oyster reef restoration
Restoration ecology relies heavily on ecosystem development theories that generally assume development of fully functioning natural systems over time, but often fail to identify the time-frame required for provision of desired functions, or acknowledge different pathways of functional development. In estuaries, a decline of overall habitat quality and functioning has led to significant efforts to
Authors
Megan K. LaPeyre, Austin T. Humphries, Sandra M. Casas, Jerome F. La Peyre
Effects of low and high salinity regimes on seasonal gametogenesis of the ribbed mussel Geukensia granosissima in coastal Louisiana, USA
Benthic intertidal bivalves play an essential role in estuarine ecosystems by contributing to habitat provision, water filtration, and host vegetation productivity. As such, ecosystem level changes that impact population distributions and persistence of local bivalve populations may have large ecosystem level consequences, making it important to better understand the population ecology of native b
Authors
Aaron Honig, Megan K. LaPeyre, John Supan
Differences in extreme low salinity timing and duration differentially affect eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) size class growth and mortality in Breton Sound, LA
Understanding how different life history stages are impacted by extreme or stochastic environmental variation is critical for predicting and modeling organism population dynamics. This project examined recruitment, growth, and mortality of seed (25–75 mm) and market (>75 mm) sized oysters along a salinity gradient over two years in Breton Sound, LA. In April 2010, management responses to the Deepw
Authors
Megan K. LaPeyre, Benjamin S. Eberline, Thomas M. Soniat, Jerome F. La Peyre
Preliminary assessment of bioengineered fringing shoreline reefs in Grand Isle and Breton Sound, Louisiana
Restoration of three-dimensional shell habitats in coastal Louisiana presents a valuable and potentially self-sustaining approach to providing shoreline protection and critical nekton habitat and may contribute to water quality maintenance. The use of what has been called “living shorelines” is particularly promising because in addition to the hypothesized shoreline protection services, it is pred
Authors
Megan La Peyre, Lindsay Schwarting, Shea Miller
Baseline data for evaluating development trajectory and provision of ecosystem services of created fringing oyster reefs in Vermilion Bay, Louisiana
Understanding the time frame in which ecosystem services (that is, water quality maintenance, shoreline protection, habitat provision) are expected to be provided is important when restoration projects are being designed and implemented. Restoration of three-dimensional shell habitats in coastal Louisiana and elsewhere presents a valuable and potentially self-sustaining approach to providing shore
Authors
Megan La Peyre, Lindsay Schwarting, Shea Miller
Oyster reef restoration in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: effect of artificial substrate and sge on nekton and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage use
In the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), reefs built by eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, provide critical habitat within shallow estuaries, and recent efforts have focused on restoring reefs to benefit nekton and benthic macroinvertebrates. We compared nekton and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages at historic, newly created (<5years) and old (>6years) shell and rock substrate reefs. Using c
Authors
Laura A. Brown, Jessica N. Furlong, Kenneth M. Brown, Megan K. LaPeyre
Gauging state-level and user group views of oyster reef restoration activities in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Successful oyster reef restoration, like many conservation challenges, requires not only biological understanding of the resource, but also stakeholder cooperation and political support. To measure perceptions of oyster reef restoration activities and priorities for future restoration along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, a survey of 1500 individuals representing 4 user groups (oyster harvester
Authors
Megan K. LaPeyre, Ashby Nix, Luke Laborde, Bryan P. Piazza
A shell-neutral modeling approach yields sustainable oyster harvest estimates: a retrospective analysis of the Louisiana state primary seed grounds
A numerical model is presented that defines a sustainability criterion as no net loss of shell, and calculates a sustainable harvest of seed (<75 mm) and sack or market oysters (≥75 mm). Stock assessments of the Primary State Seed Grounds conducted east of the Mississippi from 2009 to 2011 show a general trend toward decreasing abundance of sack and seed oysters. Retrospective simulations provide
Authors
Thomas M. Soniat, John M. Klinck, Eric N. Powell, Nathan W. Cooper, Mahdi Abdelguerfi, Eileen E. Hofmann, Janak Dahal, Shengru Tu, John Finigan, Benjamin S. Eberline, Jerome F. La Peyre, Megan K. LaPeyre, Fareed Qaddoura
Nekton density patterns and hurricane recovery in submerged aquatic vegetation, and along non-vegetated natural and created edge habitats
We compared nekton habitat value of submerged aquatic vegetation, flooded non-vegetated natural and man-made edge habitats in mesohaline interior marsh areas in southwest Louisiana using a 1-m2 throw trap and 3-mm bag seine. When present, SAV habitats supported close to 4 times greater densities and higher species richness of nekton as compared to either natural or man-made edge habitats, which su
Authors
Megan La Peyre, J. Gordon
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 87
The Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment: Mangrove, Tidal Emergent Marsh, Barrier Islands, and Oyster Reef
Climate, sea level rise, and urbanization are undergoing unprecedented levels of combined change and are expected to have large effects on natural resources—particularly along the Gulf of Mexico coastline (Gulf Coast). Management decisions to address these effects (i.e., adaptation) require an understanding of the relative vulnerability of various resources to these stressors. To meet this need, t
Authors
Amanda Watson, Joshua S. Reece, Blair Tirpak, Cynthia Kallio Edwards, Laura Geselbracht, Mark Woodrey, Megan K. LaPeyre, P. Soupy Dalyander
Population ecology of the gulf ribbed mussel across a salinity gradient: recruitment, growth and density
Benthic intertidal bivalves play an essential role in estuarine ecosystems by contributing to habitat provision, water filtration, and promoting productivity. As such, changes that impact population distributions and persistence of local bivalve populations may have large ecosystem level consequences. Recruitment, growth, mortality, population size structure and density of the gulf coast ribbed mu
Authors
Aaron Honig, John Supan, Megan K. LaPeyre
Oyster reef restoration in the northern Gulf of Mexico: extent, methods and outcomes
Shellfish reef restoration to support ecological services has become more common in recent decades, driven by increasing awareness of the functional decline of shellfish systems. Maximizing restoration benefits and increasing efficiency of shellfish restoration activities would greatly benefit from understanding and measurement of system responses to management activities. This project (1) compile
Authors
Megan K. LaPeyre, Jessica N. Furlong, Laura A. Brown, Bryan P. Piazza, Ken Brown
Temporal variation in development of ecosystem services from oyster reef restoration
Restoration ecology relies heavily on ecosystem development theories that generally assume development of fully functioning natural systems over time, but often fail to identify the time-frame required for provision of desired functions, or acknowledge different pathways of functional development. In estuaries, a decline of overall habitat quality and functioning has led to significant efforts to
Authors
Megan K. LaPeyre, Austin T. Humphries, Sandra M. Casas, Jerome F. La Peyre
Effects of low and high salinity regimes on seasonal gametogenesis of the ribbed mussel Geukensia granosissima in coastal Louisiana, USA
Benthic intertidal bivalves play an essential role in estuarine ecosystems by contributing to habitat provision, water filtration, and host vegetation productivity. As such, ecosystem level changes that impact population distributions and persistence of local bivalve populations may have large ecosystem level consequences, making it important to better understand the population ecology of native b
Authors
Aaron Honig, Megan K. LaPeyre, John Supan
Differences in extreme low salinity timing and duration differentially affect eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) size class growth and mortality in Breton Sound, LA
Understanding how different life history stages are impacted by extreme or stochastic environmental variation is critical for predicting and modeling organism population dynamics. This project examined recruitment, growth, and mortality of seed (25–75 mm) and market (>75 mm) sized oysters along a salinity gradient over two years in Breton Sound, LA. In April 2010, management responses to the Deepw
Authors
Megan K. LaPeyre, Benjamin S. Eberline, Thomas M. Soniat, Jerome F. La Peyre
Preliminary assessment of bioengineered fringing shoreline reefs in Grand Isle and Breton Sound, Louisiana
Restoration of three-dimensional shell habitats in coastal Louisiana presents a valuable and potentially self-sustaining approach to providing shoreline protection and critical nekton habitat and may contribute to water quality maintenance. The use of what has been called “living shorelines” is particularly promising because in addition to the hypothesized shoreline protection services, it is pred
Authors
Megan La Peyre, Lindsay Schwarting, Shea Miller
Baseline data for evaluating development trajectory and provision of ecosystem services of created fringing oyster reefs in Vermilion Bay, Louisiana
Understanding the time frame in which ecosystem services (that is, water quality maintenance, shoreline protection, habitat provision) are expected to be provided is important when restoration projects are being designed and implemented. Restoration of three-dimensional shell habitats in coastal Louisiana and elsewhere presents a valuable and potentially self-sustaining approach to providing shore
Authors
Megan La Peyre, Lindsay Schwarting, Shea Miller
Oyster reef restoration in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: effect of artificial substrate and sge on nekton and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage use
In the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), reefs built by eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, provide critical habitat within shallow estuaries, and recent efforts have focused on restoring reefs to benefit nekton and benthic macroinvertebrates. We compared nekton and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages at historic, newly created (<5years) and old (>6years) shell and rock substrate reefs. Using c
Authors
Laura A. Brown, Jessica N. Furlong, Kenneth M. Brown, Megan K. LaPeyre
Gauging state-level and user group views of oyster reef restoration activities in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Successful oyster reef restoration, like many conservation challenges, requires not only biological understanding of the resource, but also stakeholder cooperation and political support. To measure perceptions of oyster reef restoration activities and priorities for future restoration along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, a survey of 1500 individuals representing 4 user groups (oyster harvester
Authors
Megan K. LaPeyre, Ashby Nix, Luke Laborde, Bryan P. Piazza
A shell-neutral modeling approach yields sustainable oyster harvest estimates: a retrospective analysis of the Louisiana state primary seed grounds
A numerical model is presented that defines a sustainability criterion as no net loss of shell, and calculates a sustainable harvest of seed (<75 mm) and sack or market oysters (≥75 mm). Stock assessments of the Primary State Seed Grounds conducted east of the Mississippi from 2009 to 2011 show a general trend toward decreasing abundance of sack and seed oysters. Retrospective simulations provide
Authors
Thomas M. Soniat, John M. Klinck, Eric N. Powell, Nathan W. Cooper, Mahdi Abdelguerfi, Eileen E. Hofmann, Janak Dahal, Shengru Tu, John Finigan, Benjamin S. Eberline, Jerome F. La Peyre, Megan K. LaPeyre, Fareed Qaddoura
Nekton density patterns and hurricane recovery in submerged aquatic vegetation, and along non-vegetated natural and created edge habitats
We compared nekton habitat value of submerged aquatic vegetation, flooded non-vegetated natural and man-made edge habitats in mesohaline interior marsh areas in southwest Louisiana using a 1-m2 throw trap and 3-mm bag seine. When present, SAV habitats supported close to 4 times greater densities and higher species richness of nekton as compared to either natural or man-made edge habitats, which su
Authors
Megan La Peyre, J. Gordon